The Brothers Who Were No Longer Brothers
by The Dark Crimson Blood
Summary: Two brothers suddenly disappear, leaving the third behind without a word. Oneshot...?


**Author:** _The Dark Crimson Blood_  
**Story Title: ****_The Brothers Who Were No Longer Brothers_****  
Word Count:**_ 1,299  
_**Disclaimer: **_Don't own it.  
_**Warnings: AU...  
Summary**: Two brothers suddenly disappear, leaving the third behind without a word.

* * *

Sabo, Ace, and Luffy were brothers; not by blood, though. They were orphans; Ace and Sabo were eleven whereas Luffy was seven. The only people who wanted to adopt them were the ones who wanted to adopt them separately.

They had decided they would go together or not at all.

It was because they always did everything together; they couldn't be separated.

That is, until one day a man arrived and offered to adopt two of them. It was rare for someone to want to adopt two instead of one; but it obviously was the best they were going to get, so they accepted; without letting the third of the trio know.

Ace and Sabo left with the large man named Whitebeard; leaving Luffy behind without a second thought, or a goodbye. It would've been a mess if they did though; and yet they felt guilty enough for leaving him like that.

Luffy never accepted it, he never accepted the fact that he was left behind by his brothers. A woman named Makino had given him the news the moment he woke up, he hadn't reacted nicely after that; the first emotion that had came to him was anger, he almost destroyed everything in the room; the second was sadness, he had avoided people until for two days until he decided on something; and the third was denial, he was always thinking and believing that Ace and Sabo would never leave him behind, since, they promised!

Luffy was sure they would come back; each and every day he waited for them to do so, people who told him they weren't coming back and that they abandoned him were either ignored, yelled at, and bruised.

When he reached the age of nine, someone had offered to adopt him; and naturally he turned it down, he had promised that he wouldn't… He had promised that he wouldn't leave without his brothers, who would return any day now.

No one had seen him smile lately; or express his usual cheerfulness at all; and it worried them.

The adults tried to cheer him up but they were all rejected, it was unfortunate that it eventually led to problems when Luffy reached age ten.

He started getting into fights at school or with the other children; he was always coming back with some sort of injury from something he never talked about, which only made them worry for him even more.

Then he was pitied; by the adults and some of the older children, he didn't accept it. He didn't accept their pity; he never wanted it in the first place. All he wanted was for them to stop lying to him about the absence of his brothers.

Because they were coming back, they were just… Somewhere else right now; but they would back and they would be adopted together… Right…?

His first trip to the hospital when he was no older than twelve, he had broken his arm and a few ribs during a fight with a child two years older than him; he had been winning until the boy's older brother stepped in and took him down; successfully breaking his arm and a rib or two. 'The other started it' Luffy had thought at the time; it was the truth, and yet he was blamed instead since he was always getting into fights anyway.

When Makino found out, she slapped him; leaving a large red handprint on the side of his childlike face. After hitting him she told him, harshly, to get his head together and realize that Ace and Sabo were never coming back; and that they wouldn't want him picking fights either.

She also told him no one would want him if he acted so rudely.

When remembering the fight Luffy had concluded he was jealous; that boy had an older brother too; it had seemed. Just one, but it was the same; it made him jealous that that boy had an elder brother to protect him and love him whenever whereas his brothers were nowhere to be found

'And for the last time' Luffy had told the green haired woman, 'Ace and Sabo aren't gone'

And as more time passed he began to realize something, the other children at the orphanage seemed to hate him; 'why?' he thought, confused.

It was probably all the times he's yelled and hurt them- even if the wounds were minor, for telling him his older brothers were gone.

He stopped fighting them all together, and they took advantage of that and beat him up instead.

Makino stopped asking questions about his injuries; in fact, she stopped asking about everything. It was as if she didn't even care anymore.

'No one does' He thought, ignoring her just as she does him.

He never made any friends; he wondered if that was his fault, but then he shook that thought out of his head, it was theirs for trying to tell him Ace and Sabo were adopted without him.

'Liars' he muttered; continuing life as if on autopilot.

Had it become a normal ritual for him? He wondered, never truly noticing until now.

A man appeared when he turned thirteen; it wasn't a stranger, no; it was Shanks, the man who had saved him when he was seven. The man who had given him his straw hat; he had greeted the man casually.

Shanks wanted to adopt him,

Though as much as Luffy wanted to go with the man, he had a promise to keep with his brothers, and he never broke his promises.

So he declined, saying 'I promised my brothers I'd stay with them'

The man had smirked and crouched down in front of him. 'Where are they? They could come too." Luffy's eyes lit up at that, but only for a minute- no, not even that. 'They're not here right now.' he had replied dully. 'But they'll be back; can you wait?'

Shanks had given him a defeated sigh and a slight shake of the head; "Sorry, Luffy. I'm moving in two days; I travel the world, remember?"

Luffy nodded slowly, the man gave him a pair of softened eyes, 'Are you sure you can't come; Luffy?'

Luffy nodded again, 'Then I hope to see you again later, Luffy'

The raven haired teenager watched Shanks leave, waving only slight as he did so.

He hoped Sabo and Ace would come back soon, he missed them.

He didn't accept their abandonment until he turned fifteen, and was visited by his grandfather; who roughly shoved the truth into his face after adopting him.

He had been told Ace and Sabo had been adopted by a man named Edward Newgate eight years ago.

He had never cried so much in his life before; and he used to be such a crybaby, too.

Luffy didn't show his tears to his supposed grandfather though; he waited until the huge man left him, alone in his dark, lonely room that seemed both dull and dreary.

He decided he hated his brothers, the brothers who left him without a word or a single goodbye.

The brothers who broke their one and only promise they shared,  
The brothers who betrayed him and made him suffer for eight years running,  
The brothers who were no longer brothers.

* * *

**Another depressing story... In one day!**

***Sigh***  
**Hope you enjoyed *mumble* thanks for reading *mumble* Kill me now *mutter*  
cya later**

**_~The Dark Crimson Blood _**


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